Ryan finished the inning with two strikeouts and an infield grounder. In only 12 pitches, he had already put the American League team in a tough spot coming into the bottom of the 8th.
"Ken, you're up." Coach Baker said, calling out to him in the dugout.
Ken was already donning his hat and glove, raring to go. Seeing Ryan pitch lights out had awoken his competitive spirit, there was no way he would back down here.
As he walked up the stairs to the field, he caught Ryan staring at him from the other dugout. Whatever smugness he used to have was all but gone, replaced by a fierce determination.
'I guess he's also grown up.' Ken mused in his heart.
Ken ignored the guy and went onto the field, arriving at the mound. The pitcher replacement was announced over the speakers, and he achieved a mixed cheer.
Majority of the cheers from the crowd were positive, but there was a section that jeered and booed at him. This wasn't uncommon at away grounds, so Ken didn't take it to heart.
Ken took his spot on the mound and warmed up his shoulder.
Soon enough, the first batter arrived at the plate and faced him, ready for the first ball.
With Daichi behind the plate, Ken's confidence soared. There was no one he'd rather be sharing this stage with right now. He couldn't even imagine if he had to pitch to Leo of all people.
Daichi made the first lead, a fastball to the inside.
Ken nodded, lifting his lead leg and kicking off the pitchers plate. With his new and improved pitching form, everything was seamless from start to finish.
The dirt kicked up as his lead leg planted, then came the lightning fast arm as it whipped past his face.
The fastball roared through the air, moving as if it was alive.
PAH!
The batter didn't even have time to swing and the ball found its mark in Daichi's glove with a resounding slap. The sound echoed in the arena, followed by a cry from the crowd.
104mph came up on the jumbo screen, producing a wave of awe.
Ken grinned, 'I can still go faster…' he mused.
WHOOOOOSH
PAH
105mph was the next pitch. This time the batter actually swung, but it was too low and sailed past. Surprisingly, the guy had already got the timing down on the first swing.
Seeing this, Daichi called for the next ball, a change up.
The strongest secondary weapon to his fastball.
The pitch came.
WHOOOOOSH
…
PAH
"Strikeout."
The ball was much slower than the previous fastball, topping out at 88mph. With a difference of almost 20mph, there was no way that anyone could see the changeup coming.
The next two batters were taken care of promptly in only 3 pitches each. Like that, Ken finished his first inning in the All-star game with an immaculate one.
On his way back to the dugout, Ken locked eyes with Ryan. Sparks seemed to fly between them, spilling out into the arena like electricity.
The gauntlet had been thrown, but who would come out on top?
Half an hour later, the game had gone into extra innings, the score tied at 8-8 in the bottom of the 11th. Ken was on his 4th inning, having struck out majority of the batters he faced, only giving up a single hit.
Just as he was about to go up the stairs to pitch again, Coach Baker placed his hand upon his shoulder. "That's enough for today I think." He said, letting out a chuckle.
Ken was a little disappointed, but he understood what the coach was saying. While there was meant to be some competition in the All-star game, it wasn't to the point where they needed a pitchers duel into extra innings.
"If you two keep going, we could be here for another hour at least." The coach stated.
So Ken was taken off and forced to sit back on the bench for the rest of the game. Unfortunately for the American League, his replacement pitcher was unable to keep the score even.
A massive walk off home run by one of the cleanup batters put an end to the hard fought game. The teams walked onto the field and congratulated each other before the interviews and festivities started.
"Ken, are you frustrated that you got taken out in the 11th inning? It seemed that you and Ryan Smith were having yourselves a duel out there." One of the reporters on the field asked Ken, his intentions obvious.
"This was a fun game, I really enjoyed competing against the best players in the league and am thankful I was invited to participate. Ryan and I have some history, so it was good fun to play against him." He replied.
"Was this the first time you've played against him since the U18 World Cup?" The reporter continued.
"Yes. Unfortunately our schedules don't align this season, but who knows… Maybe we'll see each other in the World Series."
"Stranger things have happened." The reporter admitted.
Ken raised his eyebrow, but he interview was concluded briefly after his last comment.
"Let's get out of here." Ken said to Daichi, not wanting to hang around. They still had a flight the following morning back to Oakland.
"You don't have to tell me twice."
The two dodged the reporters and headed back to the locker room where many of the players were chatting amongst each other.
"Oi rookies. We're heading out for dinner, want to join?" Alex said, wearing a grin.
Ken shook his head, "We have an early flight tomorrow, you guys have fun."
"Ah come on man, it'll be fun."
Ken didn't even hesitate, quickly turning it down once more. The last thing he wanted to do right now was go out in LA with a bunch of people he didn't really know, even if they were technically colleagues.
"Man, what's with rookies these days? Back when I was a rookie…"